ABBAS عبّاس mArabic, Persian, UrduMeans "austere" in Arabic. This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle. It was also borne by a son of Ali, the fourth caliph.

ABD AL-AZIZ عبد العزيز mArabicMeans "servant of the powerful" from Arabic عبد ال ('abd al) meaning "servant of the" combined with عزيز ('aziz) meaning "powerful". This was the name of the first king of modern Saudi Arabia.

ABD AL-HAMID عبد الحميد mArabicMeans "servant of the praiseworthy" from Arabic عبد ال ('abd al) meaning "servant of the" combined with حميد (hamid) meaning "praiseworthy". This was the name of two sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

ABD ALLAH عبد الله mArabicMeans "servant of ALLAH" from Arabic عبد ('abd) meaning "servant of" combined with الله (Allah). This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's father. He died before his son's birth.

ABD AL-MALIK عبد الملك mArabicMeans "servant of the king" from Arabic عبد ال ('abd al) meaning "servant of the" combined with ملك (malik) meaning "king". This was the name of the fifth Umayyad caliph, who made Arabic the official language of the empire.

ABD AL-RAHMAN عبد الرحمن, عبد الرحمان mArabicMeans "servant of the merciful" from Arabic عبد ال ('abd al) meaning "servant of the" combined with رحمن (rahman) meaning "merciful". This was the name of two early caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain.

'ABLA عبلة fArabicMeans "full-figured" in Arabic. The 7th-century Arabic poet Antara dedicated much of his poetry to a woman named Abla.

ABU أبو mArabicMeans "father of" in Arabic. This is commonly used as an element in a kunya, which is a type of Arabic nickname. The element is combined with the name of one of the bearer's children (usually the eldest son). In some cases the kunya is figurative, not referring to an actual child, as in the case of the Muslim caliph Abu Bakr.

ABU BAKR أبو بكر mArabicCombination of ABU and BAKR. Abu Bakr was a companion and father-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the first caliph of the Muslim world. His name was in fact a kunya (a nickname) formed using Abu; his real name was Abd Allah. Shia Muslims hold a more negative view of Abu Bakr, hence this name is more widely used among Sunnis.

AISHA عائشة fArabic, Urdu, AmericanMeans "alive" in Arabic. This was the name of Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. This name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.... [more]

ALA AL-DIN علاء الدين mArabicMeans "excellence of religion" from Arabic علاء ('ala) meaning "excellence, elevation" combined with دين (din) meaning "religion, faith". This was the name of several sultans of Delhi.

AL-AMIR الآمر mArabic (Rare)Means "the commander, the prince" in Arabic. This was the name of a 10th-century Fatimid imam.

ANWAR أنور mArabicMeans "brighter, more luminous" in Arabic. This name was borne by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), who was assassinated three years after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

AZIZ عزيز mArabic, Persian, Urdu, UzbekMeans "powerful, respected, beloved", derived from Arabic عزّ ('azza) meaning "to be powerful" or "to be cherished". In Islamic tradition العزيز (al-'Aziz) is one of the 99 names of Allah. A notable bearer of the name was Al-'Aziz, a 10th-century Fatimid caliph.

HARUN هارون mArabic, Turkish, BosnianArabic form of AARON. Harun al-Rashid was a 9th-century Abbasid caliph featured in the stories of 'The 1001 Nights'.

HASAN حسن mArabic, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, IndonesianMeans "handsome", derived from Arabic حسن (hasuna) meaning "to be beautiful, to be good". Hasan was the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was poisoned by one of his wives and is regarded as a martyr by Shia Muslims. This was also the name of two kings of Morocco. It is sometimes transcribed as Hassan, though this is a distinct name in Arabic.

HASHIM هاشم mArabicMeans "crusher, breaker" in Arabic. This was the nickname of a great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad. He acquired this nickname because of his practice of crumbling bread and giving it to pilgrims.

HASSAN حسّان mArabic, Persian, UrduMeans "beautifier, improver" in Arabic. Hassan ibn Thabit was a 7th-century poet who was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. This name is sometimes transcribed as Hasan, though the two names are spelled distinctly in Arabic.